


Hey Brother

by LizzyLovesPink



Category: The Institute - Stephen King
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Canon Compliant, Diarrhea, Fever, Fluff and Angst, Foreshadowing, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, High fever, Missing Scene, One-Shot, Psychic Abilities, Sick Character, Sickfic, Telepathic Character, They're Just Kids Let Them Be Happy, Title taken from a song, Vomiting, contemporary, pop culture references, stomach flu, style imitation, they're trying their best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24877792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Avery gets badly sick with a stomach virus and needs to be taken care of. What can a bunch of young kids locked in a testing facility do when the adults either don't care or don't notice? Only their very best. Thus Luke and each of the remaining Front Half kids pay Avery a visit throughout the day and try to care for him in the best ways they know how.
Relationships: George Iles & Avery Dixon, Helen Simms & Avery Dixon, Implied Luke Ellis/Kalisha Benson, Luke Ellis & Avery Dixon
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Hey Brother

Everything seemed duller the next day without Kalisha there. Despite not being overly motherly, she did have a way of guiding others under her wing and trying her best to take care of everyone and give them advice. Breakfast was as sullen and silent as it was when Iris had left them and as a result they all headed for their rooms afterwards, not feeling like playing outside as they normally did.

Luke himself was trying his best to not succumb to the feeling of sadness. Without Kalisha, the remainder of the group needed him to keep them together and he also knew he needed to remain clearheaded to plan out whatever it was she wished for him to do.

He thought of the image he received last night from her courtesy of Avery Dixon of a bird in a cage. The cage unlocked and swung open and the bird flew out. He knew what it meant, the hard part was actually even attempting it.

Another thing on his mind was that everyone was accounted for at breakfast aside from the Avester himself. At first Luke wondered if maybe he just slept in; left his room that morning and snuggled up in his, but also knew that seemed unlikely. They shared a bed last night and he was gone when Luke woke up that morning. His second thought was testing, but he couldn’t recall Avery ever getting any tests aside from the mandatory chipping and shot, and besides those usually happened after breakfast regardless, so he didn’t think that was it. A brief third thought entered his head and it was so terrible he was already on his feet and running down the hall, dashing and throwing open the door.

The posters, toys, and wallpaper were all still there. Luke allowed himself a sigh of relief. Avery hadn’t gone to Back Half; he was still tucked into bed, everything was seemingly alright.

“Avery? Avester? You doing okay? Rough night?” Luke kneeled down in front of the bed and gently shook Avery, making him mumble slightly. He put a hand on his head and pulled away from how hot he felt. “Avery?”

”Mmm...” He rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes slightly, blinking. “Luke...?”

He remembered thinking Avery felt particularly hot to the touch the night before, but initially thought nothing of it. Everyone had a different body temperature, but now Luke felt like kicking himself. Avery had somehow gotten sick, probably really sick, and maybe they’d all get it next. What happened at The Institute when a child was sick? Surely it must’ve happened before and they had been prepared. He recalled that glorious kiss Kalisha had given him his first day and her claim it was to hopefully infect him with her chicken pox. Because she had been sick with it in quarantine and just drank juice and watched TV for almost two weeks with no tests. Avery already seemingly had no tests, but surely a little kid couldn’t say no to watching TV and feel-better meals, right? It was every kid’s dream to stay home sick from school.

“I think you’re sick. I’ll tell the others,” Luke informed Avery. He blinked a few more times before trembling and leaning over in bed, upchucking onto the floor. “Oh, geezh,”

“I don’t feel very good...” Avery sat up and trembled more, looking ready to cry. Luke sidestepped gingerly away from the puddle.

“I know. Just hang tight, Avester. I’ll get someone. Maybe Helen or George,” He tried to reassure him, but despite his illness Avery looked unconvinced. Luke would also need to find a mop to clean that vomit up and a bowl to prevent further occurrences. He suddenly wished Maureen was there; not for the first time since she left but certainly the strongest. She’d clean everything up on the guise of her job and give Avery what he needed to recover.

“Yo, you look like shit! What happened?” Helen laughed when he ran into her in the lounge, always the cheerful type.

“Where’s your little bitty buddy? He’s not-“ Harry Cross began to ask before Luke shook his head.

”He’s really sick. Some kind of stomach virus I think. I’m looking for cleaning supplies,” He started opening random doors and closing them. “He hurled on the floor,”

“Aw man, I feel for the little guy then. Diseases are rough,”

Luke took notice of the fact Harry was seemingly by himself that day, though surely the Wilcox twins can’t be far. They did all eat breakfast together after all.

Unable to find a mop, Luke closed the last door with a sigh when Gladys suddenly walked in, all smiles and prettiness.

“Morning! What are you three doing in here? I expected you all to be out on the playground. It’s such a lovely day!”

“The Avester is sick!” Helen piped up, making Gladys smile more.

“Oh, he is? That is such a shame. It’s terrible to get sick when you’re young. I’ll let Winona and Zeke know right away. They will move him into quarantine and take good care of him until he recovers,”

“But we'll still be able to see him, right?” Luke asked cautiously. Kalisha had never mentioned anyone visiting her in quarantine, but she was one of the only members at the time, and besides, the name was self-explanatory. Quarantine was quarantine. Likely no visitors allowed.

“Unfortunately no. He needs peace and quiet to rest and relax, but don’t worry! Soon he’ll be fit as a fiddle and ready to play with you all again!” Gladys had a slight sparkle in her eyes as she added: “Besides, you wouldn’t want to catch his disease, would you?” She then left, making Luke run back to Avery’s room. The little boy had fallen asleep in the meantime, holding a rabbit close to his chest. His cheeks were flushed and his sweaty hair stuck to them slightly.

“They’re putting you in quarantine, Avester,” He whispered, making Avery moan and flutter his eyelashes.

“....N...No...wanna...stay...” He mumbled. Luke stared at him.

“I’ll find some way to visit you. All of us. You need us,” He managed to whisper.

“I wanna be in my own room...”

Winona arrived then with some other caretakers Luke didn’t recognize, turning her nose up at the smell and ushering him out. “Go along now. Go play outside or whatever kids do. We can handle this,”

Luke did indeed leave, heading outside and sitting down on a picnic table. Helen and George were playing basketball while the Wilcox twins jumped on the trampoline together, but Harry was nowhere to be seen. He placed his head down, feeling too distraught to even pretend to play chess. He tried waiting and fishing for any telepathic messages Avery might’ve sent but got nothing. He supposed that made sense; Avery was ill and likely couldn’t concentrate on it. Plus he needed to be super close anyway. Still, he needed to know Avery would be okay. He placed his head on the picnic table and covered it with his arms, glad nobody bothered him. He felt eyes on him from time to time but managed to ignore them, thinking they were either George trying to figure out what was wrong or Helen being pissy for killing the vibe with his sour mood as she would put it.

Needless to say though, Luke remained sitting alone outside until lunch, and afterwards, took to the halls to try and find the quarantine room. He didn't think it was anywhere in the West Wing due to everyone's rooms being there, so he instead wandered into the East Wing he only saw briefly when he tried to sleep off his barium-induced nausea. It was still as empty as ever; open doors everywhere, but one door near the end of the hall was closed and designated 'Sick-Room' with a sign with a sticker sun on it. Luke glanced around and after seeing nobody, darted into the room and softly closed the door behind him.

It was decorated to look like a preschool class with trees and clouds and the sun painted on the wall and primary colours on everything. A large orange TV was in one corner and currently playing Adventure Time, while a toychest shaped like a treasure chest was tucked in another corner and closed. The bed itself was shaped more like a couch and was orange with pillows everywhere, and a small cupboard near the bathroom contained clean, fresh blankets and sheets. The bathroom was the same as the other bathroom except the sink was black. He turned to look at Avery, who was fast asleep still and huddled under the covers. A plastic purple bowl was set by the bedside; empty, but Luke knew it wouldn't be for long.

"Avester? Are you alright?" He asked softly, placing his hand on the little boy's shoulder. Avery mumbled a bit and rolled over onto his back.

"D-Daddy...?"

Luke froze.

"Daddy...it hurts...it really hurts..." Avery's eyes opened and tears started to leak from them.

"Uh, I'm sure it does...." Luke offered lamely. His fever must've been extremely high if he was hallucinating. Didn't they have pills for that or something, things safe to give children? No way they'd just let a really important child die on them like that, right? Right?

Avery was silent for a few seconds before gasping and clutching his stomach, leaning over and throwing up into the bowl. He coughed and gagged and went for a second time, then a third. He then burst into tears and started crying hard.

"It's okay, you're not dying..." Why couldn't Kalisha be there to help? Or Iris? Either one would've worked, they always seemed like they had a good handle on taking care of children. Hell, he'd even settle for Helen at that point.

Avery continued to cry. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts...I want it to go away, Daddy,"

"Look, the TV's turned on for you, do you want to watch it?" Luke tried to distract him desperately, motioning over to the program. It had switched over to Steven Universe while they had been talking, but Avery shook his head. "I'll find something else then," He picked up the remote and started cycling through the channels, leaving them on long enough for Avery to see what they were.

"It hurts, Daddy..."

Luke read the best cure for a stomach virus-because clearly that was what he had-was to keep the person rehydrated and give them tons of rest. He felt at a loss already with the Avester demanding something to be done Luke had no clue about.

"I know....uh...sweetheart..?" Luke cursed himself. What boy was referred to as 'sweetheart'? He couldn't use 'sport' though, that word was practically ruined for him at that point. Avery rolled onto his stomach and winced in pain, closing his eyes. He curled up into a ball. "You'll make it through this," He looked around and picked up one of the stuffed animals on the bed; a rabbit. "Here, it's like a little friend of yours! He wants to see you cheer up and get better!"

Avery just curled up even more and buried his face, trembling. Luke tossed the rabbit down in frustration and worry. He had already been there long enough, but he couldn't just leave Avery alone, not when he was like this. There was no way in hell the doctors would check on him, Luke somehow had that feeling. Was this part of his newfound ability? He couldn't get in trouble, but he also didn't feel comfortable with leaving Avery to fend for himself, especially if he was hallucinating.

"Daddy...?" He called out, moaning and throwing up into the bowl. It smelled rank and sickly-sweet. Luke wrinkled his nose.

"I have to go now, but I'll be back soon, I promise," He said quickly, making sure everything in the room was in order before he headed out, silently closing the door. Instead of going back outside, he headed to the lounge, where both Helen and George were hanging out.

"I heard the Avester's sick," George spoke up once Luke arrived. He nodded.

"He's pretty bad...I think each of us should go check on him at least every hour or so. It'd look suspicious but there's no choice. He's so sick..." Luke cut himself off. "I'll give you guys like half of my tokens or something,"

"Pssh, you're on then!" Helen agreed.

"I don't need tokens. I don't mind checking up on him. Someone as little as him being sick...not like the caregivers would give a damn though," George sighed. "He's all we have,"

"He's hallucinating really badly and thought I was his dad," Luke added.

"Got my work cut out for me then, huh?" George grinned. "I'll go see him after lunch,"

"Let's go out and play Slapjack," Helen suggested, growing bored with the conversation. For once, Luke found he was glad for the distraction.

^^

True to his word, after lunch, George paid a visit to the sickroom, noting he didn't see any caregivers nor housekeepers in the halls. Maybe they were all on break too. Better for him then.

"Hey Avery? You still alive in here?" He teased, slowly opening and closing the door. Avery was awake in his bed, staring vacantly at the TV with glassy eyes. It gave George the bona fide creeps if he were being honest with himself. "I came to check up on you. A certain someone told me you're feeling sick,"

Avery just buried his face into the fluffy head of the teddy bear he was holding.

At least he wasn't doing that creepy mind-reading thing anymore, though George instantly regretted having that thought as soon as it arrived. Avery likely could still use it; that wasn't really something you could turn off.

"You like what you see on the TV?" He asked anyway, trying to make conversation. The silence was far creepier than anything Avery could pull out of his mind.

"It's okay...it's kinda boring," He said quietly. "My tummy really hurts..."

"You'll feel better soon,"

Avery was silent for a while before he suddenly shot up with a grimace and clutched at his stomach. George recognized that look and pulled him off the bed, taking him to the bathroom and watching him as he undressed and sat down on the toilet.

"I guess it's a good thing we're both guys, huh?" George joked anyway, seeing Avery turn green. Quick as a flash he grabbed the bowl and placed it in his lap right before the torrential flood of vomit poured forth. A torrent of something else poured forth too and George took a step back, glad he guessed correctly. Avery wasted no time crying about it either, choking on his sobs inbetween his moments of vomiting.

After a few minutes, he seemed empty and had enough strength to redress himself and flush the toilet, still crying and trembling. "It hurts a lot..."

"Wash your hands," George scolded when he saw Avery trying to climb back into bed. "It'll prevent the rest of us from getting sick," Avery pouted but walked back into the bathroom, taking the soap and washing his hands to the best of his ability before collapsing back into his bed. He closed his eyes and curled back up.

"You think I'm annoying," He accused.

"No way, I just don't want to get sick," George placed the bowl back down on the floor. "Someone's been eating carrots,"

Avery was silent and just curled back up.

"You know, I got sick like this once. It was a few years ago," George sat down next to him. "It was a doozy. I ate some gourmet popcorn my babysitter cooked for me on the stove, right? It tasted great, but next thing I knew, my stomach and guts were all twisted in knots. I couldn't get off the toilet and had to sit there with a bowl in my lap. My parents wanted to call the emergency room for me. I thought they were making a huge deal out of it. I wasn't scared,"

Avery stared at him for a while. "But you _were_ scared,"

"Yeah, yeah I was."

"I'm scared too..." Avery laid back down and closed his eyes, soon dozing off. George stood up.

"I'd be scared too, if I were you." He then left and rejoined the others; Luke especially was curious about how he was doing. "Puking and shitting up a storm. The usual,"

"He needs some water," Luke suggested. "I'll get him some later,"

George nodded. He should've done that earlier, but the thought never crossed his mind, and it was too late to do so now. He'd just have to rely on Luke, but he knew Luke would take care of Avery. Those two were almost joined at the hip, it was almost scary in a way.

^^

Luke arrived an hour later with a bottle of water he got from the vending machine, gently shaking Avery awake. "Avery, Avery, come on. You need to drink this,"

Avery moaned and slowly rubbed his eyes, puking into the bowl again.

"It's bottled water. George told me you went to the bathroom earlier so you really need it,"

"Daddy?" Avery tried, and Luke noticed the glassy look in his eyes. He gingerly put a hand on his forehead and drew back. He was burning up again.

"Drink," He directed, uncapping the bottle and pouring several sips into Avery's mouth. He recapped the bottle and placed it on the nightstand, keeping an eye on Avery to make sure he wasn't going to puke it all back up. The Avester laid back down, shivering. Luke stared at him, still unsure of what to do. He settled on just turning the TV off. "This place sucks. They won't even check on you to see what's wrong,"

Avery didn't say anything, just rolled over onto his back with a wince. Luke had a test to get to that likely would take up the remainder of his afternoon, so he likely wouldn't be able to bring Avery anything else until after dinner. Who didn't have tests that day? Helen or the Wilcox twins maybe. He wasn't sure how gentle they'd be around Avery, but he had no other choice. He brushed some hair out of Avery's eyes and went on his way.

^^

"Hey, some little bird told me you're feelin' pretty shitty! And pukey! Literally!" Helen teased the instant she walked into the room. Avery's eyes flicked over to her in brief recognition. "Ya need anything?" She looked down at the purple bowl and found it full of vomit and involuntarily wrinkled her nose. She picked it up and dumped it into the toilet, flushing it down and placing it back on the floor. "Ya know what always cheered me up when I was sick? My brother reading stories to me. Let's see what things they got here," Helen went over to the small bookshelf placed next to the toychest and looked through it, pulling out every single book she saw and then sliding it back in. "All kiddy stuff,"

"Big Sister?" Avery asked, but Helen ignored him. He was loopy from his fever. After going through the whole shelf and not finding anything worthwhile, she stood up and sat beside him in bed, sighing.

"They just got kiddy stuff here, so I'll tell you a story of my own. Once there was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died. The End," She recited, making him look over at her.

"That's from Spongebob," He protested weakly.

"So what if it is? It's still the truth,"

"You're mean, Big Sister..." He buried his face in one of the pillows. Helen glanced around again and noticed the water bottle, picking it up and snapping her fingers at him.

"Get up and drink some of this at least," He obliged and took a few sips before laying back down. "At least you're not having a cow,"

"I don't wanna...you'll call me Crybaby Cry again," Avery mumbled, burying his face in his pillow. A bad home-life probably. Helen was used to that so she offered him no sympathy.

"Let's watch TV. I have a test soon so I have to leave," In truth she didn't, she just disliked being around sick people. They looked pitiful and she never knew how to handle them. Avery said nothing so she turned the TV onto Netflix and started watching Bojack Horseman; she mainly only watched it at home because her parents always said she was too young to so that just enticed her further. She watched a few episodes until she realized Avery had fallen asleep, so she left it running and just went back to her room.

^^

Harry Cross arrived shortly before dinner with the Wilcox twins, carrying a tray. "Hey buddy. Can you eat anything?" He asked, holding the tray out. "Tried to get lighter stuff for ya,"

Avery rolled out of bed, clutched his stomach, and disappeared into his bathroom.

"Maybe not,"

Greta and Gerda instantly pulled open the toychest, digging around inside and pulling out several sets of building blocks. The twins started to build small towers with them, knocking them over, giggling, and setting them back up again. Avery came out of the bathroom and grimaced at the food.

"It's fruit punch and sandwiches," Harry still tried to coax. "As light as I could get, because the other options are hamburgers and pulled-pork,"

"Can you please read me a story?" Avery asked instead, climbing into bed. He sipped a few drinks from the water bottle himself.

"Uh, girls?" Harry called for the twins, who looked up from their block towers. "Want to read him a story?"

"Sure!" Greta smiled widely and sat on one side of Avery, while her twin Gerda took the other side. "It's a story about a beautiful princess,"

"Once upon a time in a castle far far away, there was a king and queen who finally had a baby. Their girl was cursed by an evil fairy-witch who was jealous! She would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die!" Gerda started.

"But then a nice fairy reversed the curse and made it so the princess would only fall asleep and not die!" Greta smiled.

"The good fairy hid the princess away in the forest and brought her back to the castle on her sixteenth birthday. However, the curse still worked; she pricked her finger while sewing and fell into a deep sleep. Her prince fought bravely and killed the dragon, and then he kissed the princess and saved the kingdom!" Gerda swooned.

"Probably missing a few details there," Harry teased. Greta stared him down while Gerda pouted.

"I hadn't heard the story in a while," She insisted.

"Did you like it anyway?" Greta asked anyway, laying down next to Avery. He scooted away from her shyly and turned away.

"I don't like princess stories," He pouted.

"I hope it made ya feel better anyway. Luke will probably be here before lights-out to check on you one final time," Harry said, putting a hand on Avery's head. Avery flinched slightly. "Just hang in there," 

^^

Shortly after dinner ended, Luke arrived once again with another bottle of water and gingerly placed a hand on Avery's head, sighing a bit. He was still feverish, but nowhere near as hot as he was earlier. According to Harry, he still had diarrhea, but hadn't thrown up once since then. Luke knew that meant the disease was finally on its way out. The TV was turned off and Avery was sitting up in bed, clutching another stuffed animal. 

"You look a lot better already, Avester," Luke tried to reassure him, but Avery burst into tears instead. 

"I want my mumma and daddy back, Lukey! I want them here and for Mumma to sing to me like she always does when I'm sick, and Daddy would tell me I could get through it because I'm strong," He sobbed. 

"But you have us now, Avery. We're like a family," Luke started, but Avery just cried harder. He heard footsteps run through the hallway and silently cursed to himself, glancing around and eventually darting under the bed. He curled up into a ball just as the footsteps hurried into the room. 

"He's only crying because he's a brat and he's ill. Nothing's actually wrong," That was Gladys' voice. "He'll get over it," 

"I heard from Winona he's pretty bad though. I don't like seeing kids ill here," That was Joe, who stepped closer to the bed. Luke held his breath and scooted a bit further away when his shoes came closer into view. "How are you doing, buddy? I got some water and special juice for you. Drink the juice and it'll make you feel a lot better after all that expelling you've done, okay? I got it from Dr. Evans," 

"Who gave you that water?" Gladys suddenly demanded. "I thought I told the others to stay out-" 

"I got it myself," Avery said weakly. "From the vending machine...I felt healthy enough to do it. Same with that tray. But then I threw up afterwards," 

Gladys scoffed. Luke assumed there was no more smiling from her that day. 

"Once you finish that juice and water, I'll get you some soup, alright? A special soup that'll make you feel better. Believe it or not it's a recipe I learned from my old man," Joe continued. "See you tomorrow," He left, and Gladys hesitated for a few seconds before following after him. They shut the door and Luke finally allowed himself to sigh, crawling out from under the bed. 

Avery sipped a few times from the juice. 

"I guess I won't be able to see you until tomorrow, huh?" Luke tried to tease, but Avery still looked down-right miserable. At least Joe seemed to care enough to give him rehydration solution; drinking plain water when you were that sick was a recipe for disaster because it never actually replenished the vital nutrients and minerals missing from constant bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. 

"I just want to go home," Avery finally sniffled, curling back up in bed. "I want to real bad. I want you to escape or something, and bring back police officers, and let me come with you," 

"Me too, Avester. Me too. Nobody wishes for that more than me," He gently patted Avery's head and tucked him the best he could, then silently stepped out of the room. He wanted nothing more than to stay there with him, even sleep with him if Avery desired so, since he knew Avery was in a fragile state of mind and needed comfort, but he couldn't risk getting caught in the morning if a caretaker came in to check on him. No, he'd just have to check on him in the morning after breakfast or something and just hope he had no tests. Well, if he did, he could just get George or Helen to tell him. 

Luke walked back to his own room and laid back down in bed, though sleep didn't come for a very long time. 

^^

The next morning, Luke ate only a few hurried bites of his breakfast before he booked it back to the sickroom, his face falling when he found it empty and one of the housekeepers stuffing the bedsheets into a laundry basket. 

"What do you want?" She asked in annoyance. "I have a busy day today, I have to disinfect this whole room and bathroom, and on top of that, the little runt wet the bed," 

"Where is he?" Luke asked. 

"Beats me," 

Luke left her alone after that, not wanting to get into an argument with a housekeeper who seemed to already have contempt towards them. He wandered outside to the playground and got out a deck of playing cards, aimlessly shuffling them and looking through them when he heard someone walk up behind him. 

"Hi, Luke," 

He jumped a mile and spun around to see Avery standing there in a sweater and overalls. 

"Hey. You feel better?" He rubbed his head. 

"Uh-huh. I still feel a bit weak but my tummy doesn't hurt. When I woke up Joe took me to Dr. Evans who did tests on me. Not the bad tests like the hurty shots, normal tests. Dr. Evans checked my blood and temperature and stuff like that like a doctor. He said I feel a lot better," 

Luke nodded, knowing they must've been checking his vitals and blood pressure and other stuff. It made him feel a slight bit better that even the staff knew how dangerous a stomach virus could be and monitored recovery levels afterwards, though that one fact didn't make up for any of the other stuff the others went through. It was obvious they weren't checking Avery's vitals as a caring gesture but more to make sure his TP hadn't been weakened or affected in any way. Such a powerful commodity needed to be monitored at all times, right? 

"Then Joe gave me this special chicken soup he said his daddy made for him when he was sick. I could only eat half but he said he was proud of me anyway. I haven't thrown it up yet." Avery continued, looking proud of that tidbit. 

"I knew you were feeling better when the housekeeper I ran into said you peed your bed last night," Luke teased, making Avery giggle. 

"Too much juice," He looked at what Luke was doing. "Want to play with me? I want to play Slapjack. It's fun with Helen but she does slap really hard," He winced at a memory. 

"Sure. Just let me finish shuffling these," Luke nodded and Avery sat across from him on the bench. 

"Lukey...did you really mean what you said earlier? About us being a family?" He asked quietly. 

"Yeah, I meant that. You, me, Helen, George, even Harry and the Wilcox twins. We're all in this together. And so are Iris, Nick, and of course Kalisha," Luke found a smile forming on his face despite everything. "We'll find a way out of here. We will. All of us," 

Avery was silent and didn't say anything else for a time. Luke was worried he was picking through his brain and started setting cards down to distract him. He thought of the bird in the cage again and the bird flying out when it was opened. No matter what, he had to let that be him. Avery's illness was just a small dip in the road. His parents may truly be dead, _all_ of their parents truly dead, but...he'd work through it. He had to. He needed to. The others needed him to. 

He carefully finished scooping up his resulting cards and let his mind be numbed by the game. 


End file.
